Your survey responses are extremely useful to us.

They help us understand whether we're doing any good, and if so, what part of our work is actually helping you. That means we can focus on doing more of the things that are having an impact, and deprioritise those that aren't valuable, or are even doing harm.

A few things to note:

  • All questions are optional, so just answer those you feel like answering.

  • It typically takes about 20 minutes to finish — less if you skip questions; longer if you write particularly detailed answers.

  • Even if you’ve taken a similar 80,000 Hours survey before, we’d really appreciate it if you’d fill this one out as well. We’ve tried to design the survey so you won’t have to repeat things you’ve already told us too much — but there will probably still be some repetition. Given that, we want you to feel extra free to skip questions and give especially brief answers, focusing on things that have changed since you last took a survey of ours.

  • Your answers will only be shared with the 80,000 Hours and Centre for Effective Altruism teams, plus two Rethink Priorities researchers, who will be helping us analyse the results — unless you give us permission to share them more widely. See our privacy policy.

About you

Name
Did you fill out our user survey in 2020?

Thanks for taking our survey in 2020, and double thanks for being up for taking another one just two years later! Seriously, we really appreciate it.

Since you’ve already told us a lot about your experience with 80,000 Hours, feel extra free to skip questions and give especially brief answers, focusing on things that have changed since you last took a survey of ours.

How did you first hear of 80,000 Hours?
If you're not sure, just enter your best guess
Do you broadly agree with the basic ideas behind effective altruism?
How did you first hear about effective altruism?
Which of these categories best describes your relationship with effective altruism?
Did 80,000 Hours play an important role in you becoming involved in effective altruism (i.e. 80,000 Hours was one of the ~3 most important factors)?
At the point when 80,000 Hours played its role in your involvement in effective altruism, which of the following applied to you? (Check all that apply)

About your career and career plans

If you've already told us in a previous survey, feel free to give an especially brief answer
Which 80,000 Hours resource has had the biggest impact on your career plans so far?

About your career and career plans

Has your career or your career plans changed because of 80,000 Hours?

We’re sorry we've been unhelpful. Thank you for letting us know. It’s really valuable for us to learn about ways our work may be harming people or reducing the expected impact of their careers, so we’d appreciate it if you could leave some feedback to help us improve.

Please tell us anything you’re comfortable sharing about your experience with 80,000 Hours. If you’re willing, it would help if you were able to talk not only about our effect on your career, but also ways in which we may have affected you personally.

We've found that non-anonymous feedback is generally more helpful, but if you prefer to give feedback anonymously, feel free to leave the name and email address fields above blank.

Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played a role in reducing the expected impact of your career? (Check all that apply)

Website

Podcast

Job board

One-on-one advising

Headhunting team

In-person workshop or talk delivered by 80,000 Hours staff member

80,000 Hours in general / other

Which (if any) of these organisations, people, or books have also influenced your career or your career plans? (Check all that apply)
Which of these CEA projects influenced your career or your career plans? (Check all that apply)
Among all the options listed above, including 80,000 Hours, which has had the largest influence on your career and career plans?
Which of these CEA projects had the largest influence on your career or career plans?
It might have been the same as your current career path and plans — if you think this is the case, please just say that.
Which of these problem areas do you currently think are most pressing? (Check all that apply)
If you hadn’t engaged with 80,000 Hours (but had still engaged with the other organisations, people, and books you mentioned above), do you think you would have roughly the same view of which problem areas are most pressing?
If you hadn’t engaged with 80,000 Hours (but 80,000 Hours still existed), do you think you would have roughly the same view of which problem areas are most pressing?
How different do you think your view of which problems are most pressing would be?
Now consider any jobs, internships, or courses of study that you’ve started (or accepted an offer for) since you first encountered 80,000 Hours. Did engaging with 80,000 Hours play a particularly important role in you choosing any of these (i.e. there’s at least a 30% chance that you wouldn’t have chosen it if not for 80,000 Hours)?
Which of the following did you start (or accept an offer for) for which engaging with 80,000 Hours played a particularly important role in you choosing it (i.e. there’s at least a 30% chance you wouldn’t have chosen it if not for 80,000 Hours)?
What was the most recent thing you started (or accepted an offer for) for which 80,000 Hours played a particularly important role in you choosing it?
What is the title of the role? In a sentence or two, what does it involve?
If >0.9, it means that the person has indicated that 80k has partly caused them to undertake a course of study.
What subject is the course of study in? (Check all that apply)
Which of these best describes the course of study?
Are any of these other things either a job or a graduate course of study (i.e. a master’s or above)?

About your most recent offer

From here on, please answer the following questions for the most recent offer you accepted for which engaging with 80,000 Hours played an important role, rather than any earlier ones.

What problem area is the job/internship/course of study most relevant to?
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played an important role in you doing this job/internship/course of study? (Check all that apply)
Did you find out about the role, or the organisation where you worked or studied, via the job board?
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources would you say was most responsible for you doing this job/internship/course of study?
Note that “most responsible” doesn’t necessarily mean the most recent resource you engaged with. For example, you might have found the specific job on our job board in 2020, but feel the most important effect was in 2018 when you decided to work on that problem area after listening to our podcast.
At the point when you had contact with that resource, were you on a path that might have resulted in a “lock-in”? That is, if you had continued for longer on that path, you would have taken a step after which it would be significantly harder for you to switch paths? An example of a “lock-in” might be starting graduate school, since it represents a commitment that many people are reluctant to turn away from.

About the impact of 80,000 Hours on your career

Now consider the entire influence that engaging with 80,000 Hours has had on your career and career plans — not just the specific job/internship/course of study we’ve just been asking about.

Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played an important role in you changing your career or career plans? (Check all that apply)
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources would you say was most responsible for you changing your career or career plans?
Note that “most responsible” doesn’t necessarily mean the most recent resource you engaged with. For example, you might have found the specific job on our job board in 2020, but feel the most important effect was in 2018 when you decided to work on that problem area after listening to our podcast.
If you hadn't engaged with 80,000 Hours, how likely would you guess it is that something else (a book, another website, conversations with friends, etc.) would have had the same or very similar effect on you within three years, such that your career/career plans would end up being very similar to what they in fact are?
Has 80,000 Hours had any negative effects on you or your career (even if those effects were small or were offset by positive effects)?
We would find this information most valuable if we’re able to read about it in the context of the rest of your responses, but if you’d feel more comfortable giving the feedback anonymously, you can do so: just open another survey form using this link and answer these questions there.

We’re sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting us know. It’s really valuable for us to learn about ways our work may be harming people or reducing the expected impact of their careers, so we’d appreciate it if you could leave some feedback to help us improve.

Which parts of 80,000 Hours had these effects? (Check all that apply)

Website

Podcast

Job board

One-on-one advising

Headhunting team

In-person workshop or talk delivered by 80,000 Hours staff member

80,000 Hours in general / other

Since our last survey...

Has your career or your career plans changed because of 80,000 Hours since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)?

We’re sorry we've been unhelpful. Thank you for letting us know. It’s really valuable for us to learn about ways our work may be harming people or reducing the expected impact of their careers, so we’d appreciate it if you could leave some feedback to help us improve.

Please tell us anything you’re comfortable sharing about your experience with 80,000 Hours. If you’re willing, it would help if you were able to talk not only about our effect on your career, but also ways in which we may have affected you personally.

We've found that non-anonymous feedback is generally more helpful, but if you prefer to give feedback anonymously, feel free to leave the name and email address fields above blank.

Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played a role in reducing the expected impact of your career since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)? (Check all that apply)

Website

Podcast

Job board

One-on-one advising

Headhunting team

In-person workshop or talk

80,000 Hours in general / other

Which (if any) of these organisations, people, or books have also influenced your career and your career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)? (Check all that apply)
Which of these CEA projects influenced your career and your career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)? (Check all that apply)
Among all the options listed above, including 80,000 Hours, which has had the largest influence on your career and career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)?
Which of these CEA projects had the largest influence on your career and your career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August of 2020)?
It might have been the same as your current career path and plans — if you think this is the case, please just say that.
Which of these problem areas do you currently think are most pressing? (Check all that apply)
If you hadn’t engaged with 80,000 Hours since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August of 2020) (but had still engaged with the other organisations, people, and books you mentioned above), do you think you would have roughly the same view of which problem areas are most pressing?
If you hadn’t engaged with 80,000 Hours since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August of 2020) (but 80,000 Hours still existed), do you think you would have roughly the same view of which problem areas are most pressing?
How different do you think your view would be?
Now consider any jobs, internships, or courses of study that you’ve started (or accepted an offer for) since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020). Did engaging with 80,000 Hours play a particularly important role in you choosing any of these (i.e. there’s at least a 30% chance that you wouldn’t have chosen it if not for 80,000 Hours)?
Which of the following did you start (or accept an offer for) since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020) for which engaging with 80,000 Hours played a particularly important role in you choosing it (i.e. there’s at least a 30% chance you wouldn’t have chosen it if not for 80,000 Hours)?
What was the most recent thing you started (or accepted an offer for) since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020) for which 80,000 Hours played a particularly important role in you choosing it?
What is the title of the role? In a sentence or two, what does it involve?
If >0.9, it means that the person has indicated that 80k has partly caused them to undertake a course of study.
What subject is the course of study in? (Check all that apply)
Which of these best describes the course of study?
What subject is the course of study in? (Check all that apply)
Which of these best describes the course of study?
Are any of these other things either a job or a graduate course of study (i.e. a master’s or above)?

About your most recent offer

From here on, please answer the following questions for the most recent offer you accepted for which engaging with 80,000 Hours played an important role, rather than any earlier ones.

What problem area is the job/internship/course of study most relevant to?
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played an important role in you doing this job/internship/course of study? (Check all that apply)
Did you find out about the role, or the organisation where you worked or studied, via the job board?
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources would you say was most responsible for you doing this job/internship/course of study?
Note that “most responsible” doesn’t necessarily mean the most recent resource you engaged with. For example, you might have found the specific job on our job board in 2020, but feel the most important effect was in 2018 when you decided to work on that problem area after listening to our podcast.
At the point when you had contact with that resource, were you on a path that might have resulted in a “lock-in”? That is, if you had continued for longer on that path, you would have taken a step after which it would be significantly harder for you to switch paths? An example of a “lock-in” might be starting graduate school, since it represents a commitment that many people are reluctant to turn away from.

About the impact of 80,000 Hours on your career since our last survey

Now consider the entire influence that engaging with 80,000 Hours has had on your career and career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August of 2020) — not just the specific job/internship/course of study we’ve just been asking about.

Which of these 80,000 Hours resources played an important role in you changing your career or career plans since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)? (Check all that apply)
Which of these 80,000 Hours resources would you say was most responsible for you changing your career or career plans?
Note that “most responsible” doesn’t necessarily mean the most recent resource you engaged with. For example, you might have found the specific job on our job board in 2020, but feel the most important effect was in 2018 when you decided to work on that problem area after listening to our podcast.
If you hadn't engaged with 80,000 Hours, how likely would you guess it is that something else (a book, another website, conversations with friends, etc.) would have had the same or very similar effect on you within three years, such that your career/career plans would end up being very similar to what they in fact are?
Has 80,000 Hours had any negative effects on you or your career (even if those effects were small or were offset by positive effects) since you last took an 80,000 Hours survey (our last survey was in August 2020)?
We would find this information most valuable if we’re able to read about it in the context of the rest of your response, but if you’d feel more comfortable giving the feedback anonymously, you can do so: just open another survey form using this link and answer these questions there.

We’re sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting us know. It’s really valuable for us to learn about ways our work may be harming people or reducing the expected impact of their careers, so we’d appreciate it if you could leave some feedback to help us improve. 

Which parts of 80,000 Hours had these effects? (Check all that apply)

Website

Podcast

Job board

One-on-one advising

Headhunting team

In-person workshop or talk

80,000 Hours in general / other

When deciding what problem areas to work on and how to contribute to them, to what extent have you deferred to 80,000 Hours’ stated priorities as opposed to thinking through your own views?
Have you shared 80,000 Hours with a friend (whether an article, a podcast, or just told them about our ideas)?
What motivated you to share 80,000 Hours? (Check all that apply)
How did you share? (Check all that apply)
Why haven’t you shared 80,000 Hours with a friend? (Check all that apply)

Which content creators, channels, and organisations do you follow in these categories?

  • YouTube channels
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • Blogs
  • Twitter accounts

A bit more about you

If you have one available, please tell us more about your background by providing either a LinkedIn URL or your CV/resume. 

This information will help us understand your background and the context of your survey responses. In rare cases, we might use this to contact you about connecting you with relevant people or career opportunities. 

CV or resume
No File Chosen
File uploads may not work on some mobile devices.

We think it’s important that 80,000 Hours resources are valuable for people from all backgrounds. We assess our success at this in various ways, including by collecting demographic data. All demographic questions are optional.

Race/ethnicity (Check all that apply)
These categories are from the US/UK census, where a large fraction of our audience live. Please select ‘None of these apply’ if you identify otherwise.
What is the highest level of education you have completed or are in the process of completing?
If you prefer not to answer, just leave blank.

Product use questions

Would you be up for answering some more questions to help us understand how you’re using 80,000 Hours and what we could do to make it better?

Since you filled out our survey previously, you might have already answered questions about how you’re using 80,000 Hours. If so, feel extra free to skip to the final questions of the survey, or to give especially brief answers, focusing on things that have changed since you last took a survey of ours.

Blank - Copy

Job board

Roughly how much time have you spent looking at the 80,000 Hours job board (in total, since you first found it)?
Have you ever applied for a role that you found because of the 80,000 Hours job board? This includes roles listed on the job board itself, as well as roles listed elsewhere (newsletters, vacancy pages) at organisations you learned about through the job board.
Why not?
If you don’t remember the job titles or organisations, we’d welcome any details about the kinds of roles these were.
Did you receive an offer for any of those roles?
Did you accept any of the offers?
You can skip this if you’ve already told us about getting an offer for this role in an earlier question or prefer not to answer.
There’s no need to repeat yourself if you’ve told us the answer to this in a previous question, as we’ll be able to find your response there.
For example, what did you decide to do instead, and why?
Imagine that you’re trying to find your next role through the job board. Which of the following would limit how useful the board could be for you? (Check all that apply)
Has the job board helped you in any of the following ways? (Check all that apply)
How likely are you to recommend the job board to someone like you?

Website

How long would you guess you have spent on the 80,000 Hours website in total, excluding the job board?
What prompted you to come back to the website after your very first visit?
Which (if any) parts of our website have substantially influenced a particular career decision of yours? (Check all that apply)
Which (if any) parts of our website have influenced you in other ways (e.g. helped you learn about the ideas of effective altruism, changed parts of your overall worldview, or helped you succeed more in your current job)? (Check all that apply)
Have you ever felt put off in some way by an 80,000 Hours article?
Why did it feel off-putting? (Check all that apply)

Zooming in on the Key Ideas page: Have you read a substantial amount of that part of the website — e.g. spent more than 10 minutes on it, or read one or more articles? If so, what was your general reaction? (Choose one)

Are you subscribed to the 80,000 Hours newsletter?
How soon after learning about 80,000 Hours did you sign up for the newsletter?
If you find the newsletter useful, what is useful about it? (Check all that apply)

Podcast

Roughly how many episodes of The 80,000 Hours Podcast have you listened to or read the transcript of?
We're always trying to figure out what topics to cover next. What kinds of topics would you like more episodes on? (Check all that apply)
Have you shared any episodes of The 80,000 Hours Podcast with friends?
If we were to produce twice as many podcast episodes of the same quality, how many of these additional episodes would you expect to listen to?
Have you ever listened to either Effective Altruism: An Introduction, or Effective Altruism: Ten Global Problems?
Have you ever listened to 80k After Hours?
How likely are you to recommend 80k After Hours to someone like you?

One-on-one advising

What interactions have you had with the 80,000 Hours one-on-one advising programme? (Check all that apply)
How useful did you find your advising session (including prep, introductions, and followup)?
Did we introduce you to anyone after the advising session?
How useful were the introductions?
Did you follow up with anyone we introduced you to?
How useful would you find having a second advising session?
Do you think you will likely apply or ask for another advising session within the next two years?
What are the main reasons you might not want a second advising session in the next two years? (Check all that apply)
Would you find it useful to have an advising session within the next two years?
Do you think you will likely apply for an advising session within the next two years?
What are the main reasons you haven’t applied for an advising session or, if offered one, decided not to take it up? (Check all that apply)
What are the main reasons you might not re-apply for an advising session? (Check all that apply)

Almost done!

Would you be happy for the information you have entered to be shared with 80,000 Hours’ major donors (in addition to the 80,000 Hours team, the Centre for Effective Altruism team, and the contractors who will help us analyse the data)?
We define “major donors” as donors who are giving more than $250,000 per year. We are not offering the option of anonymising your responses as we would need to modify many potentially identifying fields. So if you’re uncomfortable with the full response being shared, please just select ‘No.’ Several of our major donors make decisions with a committee, so your answers could be shared with a total of around 20 people. We intend to share this information with donors who would find this information valuable, rather than all donors. You can see our donors here. Please consider this to be an especially optional extra.
Would you like a copy of your answers sent to your email address (if you provided one on the first page)?
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